Acceptance
by Riana Mustang
Summary: Six months after Layla was abandoned by her family, she finally begins to find some peace while on a mission when she wanders down to the beach alone one night.


Acceptance  
Author: Celestia Vitaria  
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. Layla belongs to me. There's no money being exchanged for this, so don't sue, ok? ::Tries to calm angry lawyers::  
Summary: Six months after Layla was abandoned by her family, she finally begins to find some peace while on a mission when she wanders down to the beach alone one night.  
Archive: Fine, just leave the site addy in a review so I know where it's going. Same with the others.  
Feedback: Yes, I live for it.  
A/N: For the part where she's got her arms outstretched like wings on the cliff, picture something along the lines of that one scene from Titanic. ::Ducks objects hurled her way:: Actually, I got the idea for it from a weird dream I had once, but it was something to that effect. Oh, and her nickname is Fox, mainly b/c she tends to be about as sly and tricky as one...ok, I'll shut up now. ::Grins::  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Six months.  
  
It had been six months since her family had betrayed and abandoned her. It seemed so much longer than that. To her, it felt like an eternity ago, despite the fact that the wounds had not yet even begun to heal.  
  
She feared they never would.  
  
After she had been abandoned by her family, only the sheer, undying, unwavering love and support of her friends and most recently Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had been able to bring her back from the dark brink of total insanity and self-destruction. And for that, she knew, Layla owed them her very life.   
  
She was alone now, though, lingering on a rocky cliff-face that seemed to jut up through the waves of the ocean itself, where the water appeared to be fairly deep. To anyone who might have actually noticed her there, she would appear as a long-forgotten specter, nothing more than a sleep-deprivation induced illusion. She preferred it to be that way though. For right now, anyway.  
  
She had been unable to sleep and had wandered down to the beaches of Canria, barefoot and still clad in her sleep-clothes. Her red-gold hair fell down her back in fiery, loose waves except for the thin braid that now hung half-way down to her slender waist. The light purple fabric of her clothes clung to her like a second skin, drenched with salt water from swimming out to the rocks. A slight wind blew around her, chilling her, but she ignored it.  
  
Turning her face upwards towards the starlit sky, Layla let her eyes drift closed and spread her arms out like wings. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The wind blew her hair around her face like wild flames, the wet strands seeming to caress her pale cheeks almost seductively, and unconsciously she reached up and brushed her hair out of her face.  
  
Slowly she took a step forward, moving closer to the cliff's edge, her eyes open now and her arms still outstretched. In a way, it symbolized her first step towards healing: acknowledge the pain of her family's betrayal.  
  
She took another step forward, turning her gaze to the ocean, awed by the way the moonlight reflected off the waves, making them appear to shimmer almost magically. Her next step: let the pain flow through her.  
  
Layla paused for a moment and took another deep breath and let it out slowly.  
  
"Let go of it, Fox. Let you spirit heal at last and finally fly free," she whispered to herself.  
  
She took another step forward and found herself standing at the edge of the cliff. The third step: let the pain bleed away from her soul.  
  
Layla sighed and glanced down at the waves below her, watching them crash against the rocks with an almost detatched fascination. A faint smile slowly crept onto her face and she dove off the edge into the shockingly warm water below. The next step: finding peace and letting her wounded spirit fly free at last.  
  
She barely disturbed the water when she broke the surface gracefully, letting the waves close up over her.  
  
After a few moments, she reemerged again, somehow managing to keep from disturbing the water at all this time when she broke the surface. Reaching up, she shook the excess water from her hands and wiped at her eyes, pushing away the veil of fire that her hair had made around her face.  
  
Opening her eyes, she stared up at the stars, feeling a sudden sense of peace flood through her and a great burden was lifted from her shoulders as she drifted mermaid-like in the water.  
  
Suddenly she threw her head back and laughed, unable to resist the temptation. Tears streamed down her face, the silvery streaks reflected in the moonlight, and she was uncertain as to whether they were tears of joy or sorrow.  
  
With another laugh, she dove beneath the surface again, reemerging a few feet away. Then she dove again, letting the warm ocean embrace her and clense her soul.  
  
She stayed out there like that for a while longer, until, exhausted now, she slowly made her way through the waves towards the shore. She let her tired body collapse upon the cool white sand a few feet away from the water's edge, where the surf wouldn't disturb her.  
  
Layla let out a relieved sigh of contentment as she shifted onto her side, pointedly ignoring the sand that clung to her dripping wet clothes. She rested her head on her pale arms, curling up into a slightly fetal position, and allowed herself to drift away into a peaceful sleep. For once she was undisturbed by the dreams that had haunted her every night for the last six months since her family had betrayed and abandoned her.  
  
She would be all right in time, she knew now. She had finally mastered one of the last steps towards healing her shattered heart and soul.  
  
Acceptance.  
  
~*El fin*~  
  
Well, what do you think of it? I know it's kind of short, it was only four pages written out. I'm thinking of doing one where it shows how her family betrayed her, but I don't really have any ideas for it, so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know, okies? Kudos!   
~*Celestia Vitaria*~ 


End file.
